If the MCAL championships were the Big Dance, consider this bracket officially busted.

You can thank the upstart San Marin High boys basketball team, which has now gone from a play-in game to playing for the league title.

Two days after knocking off Marin Catholic, the Mustangs continued their stunning week with an even bigger upset — becoming the first No. 6 seed to reach the MCAL championship by bouncing top-ranked Drake in Thursday night's 59-53 thriller at Redwood High.

Having endured a tumultuous season due to injuries and at the brink of elimination from the tournament just a week ago, San Marin (15-14) has now won five straight to earn a date with the Redwood-Branson winner in Saturday's championship game.

"Everyone doubted us," said guard Manny Wilkins, who scored 15 points, "but we're the only ones who can make this dream come true for ourselves."

For Mustangs coach Craig Pitti, this late-season surge couldn't be more gratifying.

"We've really developed into a cohesive whole," said Pitti, whose team had lost two regular-season games to Drake by a combined 41 points. "This is what we could have been at the start of the year. What makes it so good is that (the Pirates) are so good."

Led by the big three of Jason Reyff (23 points), Wilkins and Calvin Geraci (14), San Marin jumped out early and led by 13 in the fourth quarter before withstanding a gutsy rally by the top-seeded Pirates (21-6). Reyff dominated early on with 10 first-quarter points, while Wilkins and Geraci came up big in the second half. Wilkins also helped lead the defensive charge against Pirates star Jesse Hunt, who finished with 11 points and nine rebounds but struggled in the early going.

The Mustangs needed all three of those veterans late to hang on after leading for nearly the entire game.

Led by Jasper Verduin (11 points) and sweet-shooting James Hamilton (15 points, all on 3-pointers), Drake stormed back from a 41-28 deficit with a 15-5 run. Verduin started the surge with his own personal 7-0 spurt, drilling a 3-pointer and throwing down a furious breakaway dunk that brought the crowd to its feet.

But San Marin recovered and maintained composure, making crucial free throws down the stretch to finish 16 for 19 from the stripe.

"Their big three made big plays all game long," Pirates coach Doug Donnellan said. "We started out timid and couldn't get out of timid mode offensively until late. Sometimes you get outplayed and we got outplayed tonight. We'll mourn a little bit but we got a lot to play for next week."

Indeed, Donnellan expects his team to earn a No. 4 seed in the North Coast Section playoffs. The Mustangs also locked up a berth for sections, but now have a chance to go in as league tourney champs.